Top 10 Most Famous Dragons of All Time

In Polish legend, a fearsome dragon lives in a dark cave at the foot of Wawel Hill along the banks of the Vistula River. Every day it rages through the countryside, terrifying the inhabitants of Kraków. A peasant boy named Krak is allowed by the king to slay the dragon. Krak stuffs three roasted sheep full of sulfur and hot spices and leaves the spicy meal next to the dragon's cave. The dragon gulps them down whole. The spices and sulfur burn the dragon's stomach. It drinks half the Vistula River to quench it's thirst. It's swollen, burning gut bursts and kills it.

awesome - rashaun

Yamata no Orochi is an evil dragon that has eight heads and eight tails. Each year he demands that a Japanese maiden be offered to him in sacrifice. Susanoo, the god of the sea and storms, is the only one who can stop him. He arranges right enormous vats of rice wine in a circle and leaves them out to tempt the dragon. Attracted by the smell of the strong wine, Orochi plunges each of his eight heads into a vat and drinks greedily. The drunken dragon collapses helpless to the ground and Susanoo uses his powerful sword to slice Orochi to pieces. The local river runs red with the blood of the slain dragon.

In Norse mythology, Fafnir was once a greedy dwarf, but got turned into a dragon after being affected by the curse of Andvari's ring and gold. His brother Regin asks the hero Sigurd to slay Fafnir because Fafnir murdered their father for the treasure and he still refuses to share it with Regin. Sigurd digs a trench across the path Fafnir follows for his daily drink at the river. Hidden in the trench, Sigurd thrusts his mighty sword into Fafnir's belly as he slithers overhead. At Regin's request, Sigurd cuts out Fafnir's heart and roasts it. Sigurd burns his fingers on the red-hot heart. When he sucks on his fingers to relieve the pain, the taste of Fafnir's blood gives Sigurd the power to understand the language of birds. The birds warn Sigurd that Regin plans to kill him, so Sigurd kills Regin and claims the treasure.

The last of the great dragons of Middle Earth and the primary antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. He lives within the Linely Mountain and has a huge pile of treasure that he stole from the dwarves. Bilbo Baggins tries to steal a two-handled cup from the treasure hoard, but Smaug later discovers the theft and circles the sky above the mountain in a rage, bellowing and shooting flames. Later, Bilbo makes himself invisible and sneaks into the dragon's cave again. Although Smaug cannot see Bilbo, he can smell him and he mocks the invisible hobbit. Bilbo flatters the vain Smaug into rolling over onto his back. Bilbo spots an open patch in Smaug's jeweled armor. Knowledge of his weak spot is passed on to Bard the Bowman, who kills Smaug with a single, black, dwarf-made arrow.

Smaug

Oh yes, Blind Guardian fans also have heard of this dragon thanks to the song 'The Bard's Song (The Hobbit)':
"Where the old dragon sleeps
Blind in the dark dungeon's night
So God please take me away from here" - Metal_Treasure

I love dragons. Nice list.
May I just add that there's a lot of them in metal music, too, especially in power and folk metal - on album covers, in song titles and lyrics, in band names. - Metal_Treasure

The third and final enemy in the epic poem Beowulf, one of the earliest known works of fiction. The dragon is also the first example of a fire-breathing dragon in literature.


The dragon is awoken after a slave steals a jewel-encrusted cup from its layer, driving the dragon into a frenzy. The monster attacks Beowulf's homeland, forcing Beowulf to take action by going into its lair with his thanes. In the end, all of Beowulf's thanes run away except Wiguf. Beowulf dies in battle with the beast, but he does allow Wiguf to deliver the killing blow.

The Fucanglong (also known as Futs-Lung) is the Chinese underworld dragon who guards buried treasures, both natural and man-made. His most treasured possession is a magic pearl that multiplies when touched. The pearl is considered the most valuable of his treasures because it represents wisdom. It takes nearly 3,000 years for the Fucanglong to grow to his terrific adult size. Newly hatched, he looks much like an eel. By 500 years of age, the Fucanglong has grown a head that resembles a carp's. By his 1,500th birthday, he will grow a long tail, a head with a thick beard, and four Stimpy legs with claws. At the age of 2,000, the Fucanglong will have horns.

the BEST

I've heard of this dragon (Zmey) thanks to some folk metal songs by Russian and East European bands. - Metal_Treasure

In Slavic mythology, Zmey Gorynych is a Russian dragon with three heads and seven tails. It was known best for the battle that it started with the warrior Dobrynya Nikitich. After three days of fighting, Dobrynya was ready to give up, but received a message from heaven and began to fight fiercer than ever. After three days and three hours, the mighty dragon was slain by the noble warrior. It is through this folktale that Zmey Gorynych became famous.

A bloodthirsty monster that appears in an episode to the hagiography of Saint George called Saint George and the Dragon. The dragon lives by a spring that provides all the water for the city of Cyrene. The dragon demands human sacrifices and the princess of Cyrene is chosen as the next victim. The princess is tied to a wooden stake near the spring. Saint George, a soldier of the Roman Empire, discovers the distressed princess and untied her. Saint George charges the dragon on horseback. His sturdy lance penetrates deep enough only to wound the dragon. Using the princess's sash as a leash, Saint George and the princess lead the injured creature into town. Saint George announces he will finish off the dragon if the citizens convert to Christianity. They agree to convert and Saint George draws his sword and kills the dragon.

Jawzahr is a dragon that originated from Persian mythology. He was believed to be what caused solar eclipses. He causes the eclipses by swallowing the sun and the moon. He menaces the two great luminaries, chasing them around the sky and devouring them at regular intervals. Jawzahr commands a legion of demons and is a crafty, curious dragon. He disguises himself as a god one day and drinks an immortality-giving potion only for the gods. The sunannd the moon, however, see everything and they report Jawzahr's trickery to the gods. As punishment, Jawzahr's head is severed with one well aimed throw of a discus. But Jawzahr's is already immortal because of the potion he drank and cannot be killed.

Enraged, Jawzahr ascends to the sky. The two immortal parts of him live on separate from each other. Jawzahr is angry at both the sun and moon for revealing his deception of the gods. He forever chases the sun and moon, gobbling them down when he catches them. Any time an eclipse occurs, ...more

He ate zork - EliHbk

In Greek mythology, Ladon is a monstrous dragon with 100 heads who twines his body around a tree bearing golden apples. He was placed in the Garden of the Hesperides by Hera, Queen of the Olympians. His task is to guard the garden and its golden apples.

The king of Mycenae tests Hercules by assigning him twelve labors. The eleventh labor requires Hercules to steal the golden apples that Ladon guards. Hercules dips his arrow tips in the gall of a hydra and fires the poisoned arrows over the garden wall at Ladon. The awful dragon is felled by the poisoned arrows and Hercules enters the garden safely. He steals the apples and completes his eleventh labor. Passing sailors later report having seen the slain Ladon with only the tip of his tail still twitching.